Fitting In
by imasmurf93
Summary: Kuki's had to go to a different high school than her best friends. Making friends and fitting in is pretty scary when you're on your own, especially depending what group you're fitting in too.
1. Chapter 1

There's nothing scarier than that feeling of your first day at a new school...well there is but, on your first day, it seems petrifying.

It was that day, September 9th. The day that the KND moved from middle school to high school.

Kuki was woken by her mother, got up and dressed and then looked out of the window, giving a sigh. By now, her friends Nigel, Abby, Wally and Hoagie would be getting ready for their first day at Gallagher high. Not her, her mother had decided to send her to Lyons high...a school that she considered better as it was closer to Mushi's middle school, just in case.  
Kuki sighed again. She longed to go to Greenschool with her best friends, it would be so much easier to fit in if she were with them.

She walked downstairs and sat down to the glass of orange juice, egg and soldiers that her mother had put down ready for her. Kuki dipped her toast in the runny yolk of the egg and put it in her mouth. She slowly chomped at her breakfast and then washed it down with her orange juice.

"Five minutes Kuki." Her mother informed her.

Kuki nodded in acknowledgement and went up stairs to brush her teeth and hair.  
In five minutes, her mother called her and she came down the steps and walked silently out towards the car.

Kuki hopped in the front of the car before Mushi came out to prevent her calling shotgun. Mushi came out of the house and jumped in the back. After locking up the house, Genki came and sat in the drivers seat.

"So ready for your first day at your new school Kuki?" Genki said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Kuki leant against the glass and looked out of the window. "Not really."

Genki tutted. "Why not? It's exciting."

"No it's not." Kuki argued. "It's terrifying. I won't know anybody there, everyone else went to Greenschool."

"Well it'll teach you to make new friends for when you go off to college." Genki replied, "You're too reliant on your friends. Anyway, you're a nice girl, you'll make new friends easily."

Kuki decided not to argue and just stared out of the window as they drove past Gallagher high.

"I can't wait to see everyone again!" Mushi squeaked happily.

They pulled up at a crossing. Kuki picked up her head when she saw Wally, Nigel, Hoagie and Abby walking, chatting and joking across the road.  
Abby smiled as she looked over, she noticed Kuki and waved. The others followed her gaze and did the same.  
Kuki sighed sadly as the car began to move, she put her hand against the glass as they drove past her best friends.

"Here we are." Genki smiled. "Off you go Mushi."

Mushi jumped out of the car and waved. Genki then drove off.  
"Okay Kuki, here's your school. Try to enjoy it sweetie."

Kuki stepped out of the car and picked up her backpack and flung it over her shoulder. She cautiously walked towards the entrance of the school, a bell rang as she reached the door. There was a sudden stampede of children running into the school. Kuki stepped aside until they had passed. She then walked it and stepped up to a desk where an old woman with curly red hair was sat. She looked up from her red rimmed glasses and narrowed her eyes.

"Sorry, I'm new here. I don't know where I'm supposed to be." Kuki said quietly.

The woman sighed and began typing on the computer. "Name?"

"Kuki Sanban." Kuki replied politely.

"Age?" The woman asked again.

"fourteen." Kuki said.

The woman nodded. "You're in room 109 for home room. I'll take you there."

"Thank you." Kuki managed a smile.

The woman stood up and came out from behind the desk. Kuki followed her down the corridor and up some stairs, then down some more corridors.

"Here you go." The woman said.

"Thanks." Kuki replied. She knocked on the door and walked in.

She looked around the class to see around ten pairs of eyes staring at her. She walked to the corner of the room timidly where she had seen a teacher.

"I'm Kuki Sanban...sorry I'm late." Kuki told the man.

He gave a warm smile. "Hello Kuki, it's okay, one late one hurt. Take a seat, you've got extended tutorial so I can give you your timetable."

Kuki looked around the room and saw an empty table at the back left hand corner of the room. She went and placed her backpack down on the table and sat on the chair. She put her head on her backpack as she looked around the room.

"Hey...nice backpack...rainbow monkeys, vintage." A boy in front of her snorted.

Normally, Kuki would have hidden her face and cried or gotten very upset and done nothing. But she told herself that she wasn't going to be a wuss here, she was going to be brave. She thought to herself, how would her friends react?

She wasn't going to punch him like Wally would, she decided to attempt Abby's method.

"Nice jacket, I think the hobo in the bus shelter will want it back soon though." She sneered.

The kids around the boy laughed.  
"You just got burned Brad." The boy sat next to him chuckled.

The girl on the table opposite her laughed. "I like her."

A blonde girl next to her looked over to Kuki. "What's your name?"

"Kuki." Kuki replied bravely.

"Hey." The blonde beamed. "I'm Hattie, this is Ruth and that's Mark and Bradley."

Kuki smiled at them all shyly.

"What school did you come from?" Ruth asked.

Ruth had mousey brown hair that reached just above her shoulders, it had been neatly curled into ringlets and she wore a black bow hairband. She had beautiful green eyes which she had defined with black mascara and eyeliner.

"Gallager." Kuki informed her.

Mark looked up. "Cool, I know a kid who went there."

Kuki smiled back.

"We're from Jamestone." Hattie told her.  
Hattie's blonde hair reached just above her breast and was poker straight. Her eyes were a hazel and she also wore black mascara and eye liner.

Kuki looked around the class, who were all making conversation.  
"All of you?"

Hattie nodded. "Most of our class came up to the school, I think there's only a few 9th graders who didn't go to Jamestone."

The teacher got the attention of the class.  
"I am Mr Hicks. Your homeroom teacher. I'm just handing out your timetables and then you can go straight to class."

Mr Hicks called out names as he passed out the timetables. Kuki took hers and glanced at it.

_Lesson Subject Room_

_1 Maths 109_

_2 English 16_

_3 Science 102_

_BREAK_

_4 Science 102 _

_5 Art 19_

_LUNCH_

_6 French 37_

"What did you get?" Ruth asked as the crowd stood up, she walked over and glanced at Kuki's timetable.

"You've got similar to me, except I don't have English second." Ruth pointed out. "What about you Bradley? What have you got?"

They swapped timetables to see what they had together. Kuki watched as they did so.  
"Man I'm not with any of you guys for anything." Bradley complained.

"Oh." Ruth exclaimed. "You're with Kuki for English. There you go Kuki at least you're not on your own."

Kuki gave a small smile and nodded. She liked Ruth, Ruth seemed pretty nice.

"Well we'd better get ready for maths." Ruth stated. "Want to come sit with us Kuki?"

Kuki nodded and joined Hattie and Ruth on their desk. Maybe this day wasn't going to be too bad.


	2. Chapter 2

She sat with Ruth and Hattie in maths. The bell for second lesson rang. Kuki sighed as she stood up, she wasn't looking forward to English. Bradley didn't seem as friendly as Ruth.  
She followed Ruth and Hattie out of the room and stood with them as they gathered with some of their friends.

"Bradley, look after Kuki in English or I'll pound your hide!" Hattie smiled sweetly, Kuki couldn't decide whether that was a joke or if she was serious.

Bradley rolled his eyes. "Come on Kuki, I think we're downstairs."

Kuki followed him quietly. After one run in with Bradley, she wasn't sure that she wanted another one. She wasn't sure if he'd yet forgiven her for that either.

They stopped when they found room 16 and Bradley joined a group of rowdy boys. Kuki stood at the end of the queue and waited silently. Examining the children in her next class. Looking for one who looked nice enough to go up and talk to. A teacher appeared in the doorway and told them to come in. Kuki walked in slowly and began to look around the room for a seat next to a kind looking person.

"Hey Kuki, you want to sit here or what?" Kuki looked aside to see Bradley with his hand over a chair as if guarding it.

Kuki nodded and sat next to him. "Thank you."

They were on a desk that sat four. Two other boys glanced over to look at Kuki.  
"Who's the quiet stranger?" A black haired boy asked curiously.

"This is Kuki, she's from Gallagher." Bradley replied, leaning back into his chair. 

The boy grunted and turned his head to turn to the brown haired boy next to him.

"That's Michael, he's my best friend." Bradley informed Kuki quietly as the teacher began to write on the board.

Kuki nodded in acknowledgement. She stared at Michael and gave a small smile. His characteristics reminded her of Wally. The bored frown, the way his fringe covered his eyes, the way he stared anywhere around the room other than where he was supposed to be, at the board or the teacher.

"Sorry about the comment in home room." Bradley said quietly. "I tend to make jokes and they sound funnier in my head than they do when I actually say them."

Kuki grinned. "I've got a friend like that...only he doesn't think about them first."

Bradley chuckled. "Can we call a truce?"

Kuki nodded. "Why not."

"Good, I'm not good with having enemies, I forget that I don't like them." Bradley replied.

Kuki giggled and stared at the writing on the teachers board.

"So what made you come to Lyons rather than Greenschool?" Bradley asked, he obviously had no interest in learning about the tempest.

"My mum." She replied simply.

Bradley chuckled. "Ah, that explains it all. Why did she want you to come here?"

"Cause it's a private school she automatically thinks it's better than Greenschool, plus its closer to my sisters middle school." Kuki glanced at him.

She was warming to Bradley, he was getting more and more like Hoagie every second.

"It's quite a small school huh?" Bradley whispered.

"Yeah, I thought that too." Kuki whispered back. "How many's in our class?"

"51 from our school, I think you're the only new one." Bradley told her.

"Do you have something you'd like to share with the class?" The teacher asked firmly.

Bradley nodded. "I hate Shakespeare, can't we do Lemony Snicket or something instead?"

The teachers eyebrows rose in dis-amusement.  
"You've read Lemony Snicket?"

"No, but it sounds more interesting than reading about a shipwreck, a magician and a fairy." Bradley replied.

The teacher squinted her eyes at him. "If your talking about Ariel...then he's a sprite! Now stay quiet or stay for two hours detention after school."

The class stayed silent as the teacher continued to preach.

"Well she's going to be fun to listen to all year." Bradley stated.

Kuki giggled.  
After a long fifty minutes, the bell rang and the class exited for third lesson. Kuki went upstairs to find her home room and then made her way a few doors down to find her science room. Ruth and Mark came up to her and stood with her. They went and sat next to one another in the science room and partnered up together for their experiment. 

When the bell for break sounded, Kuki followed Ruth and Mark to meet up with Hattie, Bradley and Michael in the canteen.  
They sat around a table as they conversed. Many other kids in their year joined them. Kuki sat there quietly listening to their conversations, talking every now and then to a few of them.  
When the bell rang for the end of break they went back up the science room and spent an hour learning about mitosis. Kuki was so happy when the bell for lunch rang. She was so hungry she'd happily eat her packed lunch and a school meal.

They walked down to the canteen and sat in the seats that they had claimed at break time. Kuki sat down and pulled out her lunchbox. She licked her lips as she opened it and pulled out her tuna mayo sandwich. She was about to take a bite before opening her eyes and noticing the table staring at her.

"What?" She asked.

Hattie gave her a small smile. "What you got for lunch?"

Kuki shrugged. "Tuna mayonnaise sandwich, salt and vinegar chip and a chocolate bar."

"Mm mm that sounds good." Bradley licked his lips.

Kuki looked and noticed that neither Ruth, nor Hattie, nor any of the other girls on the table were eating. She bit her lip and looked at their beautiful slim figures.

She gave a sigh. "I think I'll go eat outside."

"Where?" Ruth asked. "Don't you want to sit with us?"

Kuki shook her head. "We've got an hour lunch right?"

Hattie nodded.  
Kuki smiled. "I'll be back later then."

She walked outside, noticing a tree by the gate she walked over and threw her backpack over the fence. She then checked that nobody was watching before climbing the tree and jumping down. She ran down the road. She was running for around twenty minutes before reaching her destination.

She looked through the gates of Greenschool high and glanced around at the school field. Kuki smiled when she saw an orange hoodie. She grabbed the rubber from her back pack and threw it with perfect aim. Hitting him precisely on the crown of his head.  
Wally swung his head around in anger but his expression softened as he noticed Kuki at the gates. He waved and stood up, walking over to greet her.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Wally asked, placing his hands on the metal bars as he peeked through.

Kuki nodded. "Yeah, but I wanted to see you guys. Where is everyone?"

"Lunchtime detention." Wally replied. "So how's the private school?"

Kuki shrugged. "Okay, I've made a few friends. One of them's kind of like Hoagie and the another one reminds me of you."

Wally gave a small smile.

"The girls seem kind of nice too. But I don't think they eat, I felt really weird sitting and eating in front of them." Kuki sighed.

Wally cocked an eyebrow. "Well they sound...fun."

"How's Greenschool?" Kuki asked.

Wally scrunched his face. "okay I guess, some guys are real idiots."

Kuki smiled back. "Well, I guess I've got to get back before they notice I'm gone. Bye."

"Later Numbuh 3." Wally waved.

Kuki ran back home, making it back just in time before the bell for 5th lesson rang.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Kuki met up with her new friends in home room. Today she sat with Ruth and Hattie rather than on her own. She looked at her timetable.

"I hate Math." She tutted. "I'm more of an English person."

Her timetable read that she had two frees, followed by triple English.

"I feel like going the mall." Hattie thought aloud. "Anyone fancy coming?"

They all nodded.

"After school?" Kuki asked.

The bell for period one rang.  
Hattie chuckled as they all stood up. "No, now."

Kuki blinked. "But, we've got to stay here. We're not allowed to go out."

"So?" Hattie smirked. "They won't even notice."

Kuki decided to trust them and followed them as they escaped from the school grounds.

"So why don't we go to the bag and shoe shop? We can take a look for you if you want Kuki, unless you want to keep that rucksack." Hattie hummed.

Kuki nodded.

They looked around the shop. Ruth then picked one up. "I like this one."  
Kuki looked at it and nodded. "It's real pretty."

Kuki brought it without another thought and was happy to have a hip bag.  
The day went on. They crowded around the fountain with milkshakes that they had bought and sat on the edge as they laughed and joked.

"I'm going to look for a new dress for Friday." Hattie stated. Finishing her milkshake and throwing it in the trash. She stood up, Ruth followed her.

"You want to come to Forever 21 with us Kuki?" Ruth asked.

Kuki shook her head. "I'll stay with the guys...are you sure we won't get into trouble, we're missing English right now."

Hattie beamed. "We'll be fine. Anyway, if they say anything just say Bradley made us do it."

"Hey!" Bradley moaned.

"Shut up!" Hattie stuck out her tongue and walked into the shop with Ruth.

"Are you two like in love or something?" Kuki giggled. "One minute you're fighting, the next you're really close."

Bradley and Mark burst out laughing.  
"She's my evil twin sister." Bradley explained.

Kuki went red. "Oh, but you don't look the same."

"We're not identical, thank Zeus for that." Bradley snickered.

Kuki grinned. They chatted about various subjects before Ruth and Hattie came out with two bags in each hand.

"I thought you went in for a dress." Mark gasped.

Hattie nodded. "I did, but I didn't know which one to get. Plus there was a sale."

"Yeah, 3 for 1 on jeans, shorts and skirts." Ruth replied.

Bradley and Mark rolled their eyes, Kuki just chuckled.

"Let's head home now anyway." Hattie told them. They all complied and stood up, walking out of the mall and waiting at the bus stop.  
When the bus arrived they made their way to the back so that they could sit together.

"Wait till you guys see my dress on Friday, it's awesome." Hattie beamed.

Bradley scoffed. "Which one would that be?"

"I haven't decided yet." Hattie replied. "But they're all great."

"Did Michael invite you Kuki?" Ruth asked.

Kuki shook her head.

Bradley shrugged. "Just come along, he won't mind. He likes it when more people turn up."

Kuki smiled and shook her head. "I couldn't just gatecrash."

"Don't worry about it." Bradley replied. "You can be my date."

Kuki chuckled at him as he did a playful wink towards her and the others laughed.

"Here's my stop." Kuki said getting up. "Bye guys."

"See ya." They called as she got off the bus.

She smiled as she unlocked her door and walked into the house.

"Where have you been young lady?" Her mother snapped.

Kuki jumped, her mum wasn't due home for another two hours. "School? Where else?"

"I had a truancy call from your school so came home to see if you were here." Genki stated. "I'm so disappointed in you Kuki. Truancy!"

Kuki sighed. "Sorry mum, these guys just invited me to go with them to the mall and...I didn't want to be uncool. I was trying to fit in."

Genki sighed and shook her head. "I'll let you off this time but do it again and there's big trouble."

Kuki nodded. She went out and made her way to the tree house to see her friends.  
She opened the wooden door of the tree house to see them all sat around one another comparing homework.

"Hey private school girl." Abby smiled. "We thought you'd abandoned us for your Lyons school friends."

Kuki smiled and walked in.

"How are you liking Lyons high Numbuh 3?" Nigel asked as she sat down.

Kuki shrugged. "Okay I guess, I'd rather be with you guys but my new friends seem pretty cool."

Hoagie smiled. "You haven't found a friend funnier than me right?"

Kuki grinned. "Is it really that hard to do it though?"

The kids laughed, except for Hoagie who just pouted at her.

"I kind of got into trouble today though." Kuki sighed.

Abby cocked an eyebrow. "Little miss goody two shoes Sanban got into trouble? What for? You forget your homework or something?"

"I bunked off." Kuki bit her lip.

They all gasped. None of them expected that from Kuki.

"You did what?" Nigel asked.

Kuki shrugged. "It's not like it's the end of the world. I just wanted to show them I was fun."

Abby shook her head. "Don't let them get you into trouble girl."

"I won't, it was just a little fun. We won't do it again." Kuki replied. "Oh, by the way, do you have a dress I can borrow?"

"What about your hundred?" Abby scoffed.

"I've got a party Friday and mine are all too childish." Kuki replied.

"Childish? You have some great dresses. Anyway Numbuh 5's not sure her dresses will fit you any more. You've got decent curves where as Numbuh 5's stuck in this stupid stick of a body." Abby said. "We can go look later though if you want."

Kuki nodded.

"Man, Numbuh 5's running out of outfits for this school, it's getting so irritating." Abby groaned.

Hoagie nodded. "Tell me about it."

"My mum's going nuts cause shes had to do so much laundry." Wally replied.

Kuki tutted. "At least you guys _can_ wear what you want. I have to wear a bugly blazer."

"Bugly?" Wally questioned.

Kuki nodded. "Oh yeah, it's a word we made up for our blazers, it's like butt-ugly."

The team laughed at the word and continued to talk and converse.

Later on, the two made their way to Abby's house.

"I like this one." Kuki said, pointing at a dress in Abby's wardrobe. She pulled it out.

"Go try it on then girl." Abby smiled.

Kuki walked into Abby's bathroom. She pulled off her current clothes and tried to slip on Abby's dress, it was pretty tight as she tried to get it on. She wriggled and tugged. She suddenly heard a tearing sound and gasped. Pulling it off immediately she looked to see a rip on the back of it.  
She looked at the size tag. It was a size 4 (6 UK). Kuki sighed, she was a size 8 (10 UK).

She opened the door and walked to Abby's room.

"How was it?" Abby asked, sat on the bed paining her nails.

Kuki looked down. "Numbuh 5, I'm really sorry."

Abby looked up at her. "What?"

"I'm so sorry, I tried to get it on and it was too small and it just split. I should have checked the size first and listened to you but..."

"Girl!" Abby interrupted her. "It's fine. Look, it's just the seam, we can fix it."

Kuki sat down on the bed and sighed sadly. "Sorry."

"Quit apologising girl. It's no biggie" Abby tutted. "Now give Numbuh 5 your nails so she can paint them!"


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days went by pretty quick and soon it was Friday. Kuki only had a few hours left of school. The last hour was dedicated to physical education, where a local school was coming over to play tag rugby (I think it's called USA touch for America and Canada) against them.  
Ruth had taught Kuki how to fake a believable sick note, so the two of them sat on the grass as the rest of their class began to warm up, getting ready for the new school to arrive as they were running late.

"Does Hattie like P.E? I thought she'd do a sick note too." Kuki asked as she watched her class warm up.

Ruth scoffed. "Are you kidding? Getting into her tight gym gear and showing off her sporty skills? That's Hattie's fun time."

Kuki giggled.

A group of boys walked through the gate, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Their teacher walked up to Miss Kerp, The phys ed coach and began to chat to her.

"This is my all boys group." He said. "They're in a really competitive mood."

Miss Kerp smirked. "Well my group are too so may the best school win."

Kuki gasped as she watched the boys walk in.

"What?" Ruth asked, looking up from her sunbathing.

"It's Greenschool. Those are two of my best friends there." Kuki motioned towards Wally and Hoagie.

Ruth smirked. "Awesome, they're pretty cute. Especially the one with the cap.."

Kuki chuckled. Hoagie obviously noticed her and waved. Wally looked over and gave a small wave too. Kuki waved back.

"So which one's your boyfriend?" Ruth teased.

Kuki bit her lip. "Neither!"

"Come on, you can't hang around with hot boys like that and not even have a crush on one." Ruth told her.

Kuki bit her lip and grinned at her friend. "Yes I can."

Ruth squinted her eyes at her with a playful smile. "You're lying, you bite your lip when you lie, I noticed it the other day."

Kuki gasped. "No, I bite my lip when I feel uncomfortable!"

Ruth chuckled. "You just believe that. But if it's the one with glasses that you've got the hots for, get in there before I do!"

Kuki shook her head in response and turned her head to see that they had already started the game.  
Kuki furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed Wally give a rather venomous look towards Michael. Wally was grumpy, but he wasn't one for taking automatic dislikes to people before at least talking to them. Plus Michael was pretty quiet, so what could Wally have against him?  
After around ten minutes the game was getting nowhere as the two teams were either equally awful or equally matched and there had been no goals or scores.  
Michael caught the ball and began to run. Before anyone could say anything, Wally had charged in and tackled Michael to the ground. Michael stood back up and pushed Wally. Miss Kerp blew her whistle.

"Hey, this isn't football boys! No tackling!" She shouted.

The two boys glared at one another and Kuki watched with curiosity as Michael began to talk to Wally. Wally's expression was blank so she couldn't figure out what Michael was saying to him. They both then glanced over to her and Michael smiled and waved, saying another sentence before Wally gave a snarl and punched him in the nose. He was pulled back by Hoagie and another kid from Greenschool.  
Kuki gasped and she and Ruth stood up, running over to them.

"Wally, what gives?" Bradley exclaimed, picking Michael up just as Kuki reached them.

Kuki raised an eyebrow as she panted from her sprint. "You know him?"

"Yeah, you know I told you I knew a guy from Gallagher middle school? Well that's him." Bradley replied.

Kuki glanced at Wally who was giving Michael daggers.  
"Wally, why'd you do that?" Kuki sighed.

"What are you doing hanging around with this guy?" Wally snarled. "No wonder you're under such bad influence."

"Bad influence?" Michael scoffed. "Kuki, I think your friend needs to learn a few manners."

"I'll give you manners!" Wally snapped, going to dive at Michael.

"Wally!" Kuki shouted. She stood in his path and glared at him. "What is going on?"

Wally calmed down instantly and looked away. "Nothing."

"What is is Kuki is that Wally..." Michael started.

Wally snapped his head at him. "You want to leave it?"

"I just thought she ought to know." Michael shrugged.

"Wallabee Beatles! Come here immediately!" The teacher shouted.

Miss Kerp yelled afterwards. "You too Michael Perks!"

The two boys glared at one another before going to their teachers to be scolded.

"What was all that about?" Ruth asked.

Bradley shook his head. "Nothing, just forget it."

"Bradley, will you just tell me?" Kuki demanded.

Bradley shook his head. "If you need to know then it should be Wally who tells you."

Kuki sighed in confusion and turned to Hoagie.  
"Do you know what's going on Hoagie?"

Hoagie shrugged. "I know about as much as you do."

The two boys were sent off the pitch as the game began to take place again, Kuki and Ruth sat down between them.  
They all sat in silence until Michael spoke up.

"So Kuki, you are coming to my party tonight right?" He asked.

Kuki nodded. "Sure."

"Awesome." Michael smiled.

The bell for the end of school rang and they all stood up. Kuki glared at Wally before walking out.  
"Kuki!" Wally exclaimed. "Kuki will you just talk to me?"

"What is up with you judging my friends that way?" She turned around and snapped at him. "I can't believe you'd embarrass me like that!"

Wally sighed. "Kuki I'm sorry I just..."

"Forget it. I'm not at school with you anymore Wally, I have to make new friends! Get over it!" Kuki stormed off, ignoring Wally's calls.

"Man dude, what was that all about?" Hoagie asked, catching Wally up.

Wally shook his head in response. "Nothing."

"Nothing? Numbuh 3's pissed at you for beating up her friend. I would be too." Hoagie stated.

"Drop it Numbuh 2." Wally said.

Hoagie blinked at his best friend. "Dude, what is going on?"

"I told you, It's nothing." 


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry guys, I did write this chapter and another Bend it Like Beatles chapter the day after I last posted but Fanfiction won't let me load for some reason, it keeps doing it. Plus I've had the school show all week so haven't had time to keep trying. I will do though...Is anyone else having this problem?**

She and Abby had been out and brought a beautiful pink chequered dress. It came to her mid-thigh.  
Kuki changed into it and put on some make up. She looked out of the window, it looked a little dark and chilly. But she'd manage. She stepped out of the house and shivered a little, however just continued to walk.  
After walking for around ten minutes she suddenly remembered that she had no idea where Michael's house was. She sighed and just decided to carry on walking. A sudden thunderclap roared, she suddenly became soaked by a fall of rain. It continued to fall as she pulled out her cell and tried to get hold of Ruth, no answer. She tried Bradley, no signal.

"Now what am I going to do?" She sighed.

A bicycle bell made here turn her head.  
"Numbuh 3 what are doing out without a jacket or something?" Wally exclaimed, pulling up next to her on his bike.  
He was wearing his orange hood on his head, over this he had a thick padded coat.  
Kuki ignored him and continued to walk.

Wally sighed and slowly rode alongside her. "Are you still mad at me for earlier?"

"What do you think?" Kuki spat back.

"I said I was sorry Kuki." Wally told her. "What more do you want me to do."

Kuki shrugged. "Apologise to Michael."

"I can't do that." Wally replied firmly.

Kuki tutted and stopped in her tracks. "You can't bring yourself to sat sorry? What was this about?"

"I can't tell you Kuki, I don't want to get you mixed up in it." Wally replied.

Kuki sighed again and looked ahead as she walked.

"So you've fallen out with me because me and Michael don't get along?" Wally mumbled.

Kuki looked back at him. "I haven't fallen out with you. I just...can't believe how horrible you were to him."

"What have you done with him?"

"What?" Kuki gasped.

Wally shrugged. "I just want to know, have you kissed him? Or anything else?"

Kuki tutted. "Course not! I haven't even spoken to Michael that much, we're only in English and Phys ed together."

Wally gave a sigh of what seemed like relief.

"Why?" Kuki asked him. "What's it to you anyway?"

Wally simply shrugged. "Let's just say that Michael tends to be a compulsive liar."

Kuki glared at him. "Can you not bitch about my friend to me?"

Wally sighed. "Fine! Sorry."

Kuki started to walk again.

"Want a ride?" Wally asked.

Kuki shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Kuki, you'll catch hypothermia walking around like that in the cold rain." Wally informed her firmly.

Kuki shrugged. "I haven't got much further to go."

"You don't have a clue where you're going do you?" Wally pointed out.

"Sure I do." Kuki replied she bit her lip and looked around.

"Come on, hop on, Michael lives like a block from my house." Wally told her.

Kuki shook her head again. "I told you I'm fine, just tell me where to go."

Wally sighed heavily and jumped from his bike, beginning to walk it alongside her.

"What are you doing?" Kuki asked.

Wally turned to her. "Walking with you."

"You'll catch to death." Kuki muttered.

Wally shrugged. "I don't feel the cold as much as you do, plus I've got my hood and my coat. I don't want you to have to walk on your own."

Kuki shook her head in disbelief and continued to walk in silence.

"Sure you don't want to save us both the colds and take that ride." Wally asked.

Kuki shrugged. "Fine."

Wally smirked. "Here."  
He pulled off his coat and placed it over her shoulders. He then mounted his bike and allowed Kuki to jump on and sit on the saddle. He then stood up and pedalled.

Kuki couldn't help but smile as she gripped the material of Wally's hoodie on his sides. The cold still made her shiver despite Wally's big coat. She rested her head on Wally's back and felt the warmth of his body on her.  
Wally soon pulled up on a street called Cheston Close.

"It's that one just down there, you'll hear the music." Wally told her.

Kuki smiled at him. "Thank you Wally."  
She pulled off the coat and handed it back to him.

He took it with a small smile and glanced over to Michael's house, then back at Kuki with a look of concern.  
"Be careful...okay?" He told her.

Kuki nodded. "Sure, bye."

Wally cycled off and Kuki slowly walked up to the house.


	6. Chapter 6

She walked into the house.

"Kuki, hey." Michael called, appearing from the top of the stairs. He beamed and ran down to her. A cup of red liquid in his hand.

Kuki smiled and waved at him.

"Wow, you look sweet." He grinned as he stood next to her, he took her arm and twirled her around. Examining her up and down.

"Thank you." Kuki giggled.

"Just don't let Hattie catch you." He chuckled, swatting her side a little and handing her a new cup of drink. "Here."

"Why?" Kuki asked.

Michael gave a scoff. "You'll see."

He walked off to socialise with others, Kuki saw Ruth in the doorway of the living room and gave a wave, Ruth smiled and then gave a look of shock. Hattie walked next to her and Ruth distracted her, trying to take her away. Kuki cocked a confused eyebrow.

Hattie then came in full view in the doorway and looked around, when she saw Kuki she gave a surprised frown, staring at Kuki's outfit. They were wearing the exact same dress.  
Normally Kuki would find it amusing and great that someone was wearing the same outfit as her, she'd refer to them as twins, but she could tell that Hattie wasn't happy.

Ruth walked over to her and gave a nervous smile as Hattie stormed off.  
"Hey, nice dress. Didn't know you'd be wearing...the same one." She said. "It looks nice on you anyway."

"Thanks." Kuki replied. "Is Hattie mad at me for wearing the same? I didn't know she had it I..."

"She'll get over it." Ruth smiled. "You know everyone here?"

Kuki shook her head.

"Come on, I'll introduce you." Ruth smiled.

She led Kuki into the living room where Michael was sat with a bunch of boys and a few girls. "Hey guys, you know Kuki right? She's at our schools." Michael smiled.

"Hi." They greeted.

Kuki smiled and sat down next to Ruth and Michael as she listened to their conversation.

"...So I said to the guy. Either take it or leave it. So he left it." One girl said, they all began to laugh. Kuki smiled and decided to take a sip of the drink that Michael gave her. Her face wrinckled slightly at the strong, burning taste in her mouth. She gulped it, it felt like it was scratching her throat as it went down.

"You've never drank before huh?" Michael chuckled at her expression.  
Kuki shyly smiled and shook her head.

"You'll like it after your next mouthful." Michael told her.

Kuki took another sip and decided he was lying.  
"What is it?" She chocked.

Michael shrugged. "A punch of whatever I could find in my mums cupboard."

Kuki placed it on the coffee table in front of her, she definitely wasn't keen on it.  
"Come on, I'll get you a better drink if you don't want that one." Michael told her.

Kuki stood up and followed him into the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle from the side and looked at it.  
"You'll probably like this one, you prefer apple or raspberry?" He asked her.

"Apple." Kuki replied.

Michael smirked at her cutely and opened it for her, handing her the bottle.  
Kuki took a sip, this one was definable nicer, it was sweet and flavourful.

"You like that one?" Michael asked.

Kuki nodded. "Thanks."  
She glanced outside where a lot of the people from school were smoking. Hattie was out there leant against the wall, she blew out a puff of smoke and looked over at Kuki. She glared and turned her head.

Kuki bit her lip nervously and followed Michael into the hall.  
"Fancy a rave?" Michael asked, bobbing his head to the music coming from his dining room.

Kuki nodded. "Sure."  
She felt his hand grab hers and gently pull her into the dining room. They began to copy the other kids, jumping up and down in time to the music. Kuki took a large swig of her drink and downed it in one as she danced happily. She suddenly began to feel really dizzy. It was fun. She felt Michael's hand in hers as they danced to the music. Kuki looked in his other hand to see a bottle of beer, she playfully grabbed it and drank it, strangely it didn't seem to have much of a taste. Michael laughed.  
Kuki suddenly lost control of her feet. Luckily Michael grabbed her before she fell.  
He pulled her out of the room and sat her on the stairs.

"You okay Kuki?" He asked.

Kuki looked up at him.  
"I...I Feel...fine!" She slurred. "...Dizzy, but good!...You're parties are fun!"

She noticed Bradley walking past her.  
"Bradley!" She shouted.

Bradley looked over and gave a kind but worried smile. "Hey Kuki."

"I didn't know that you were here!" Kuki shouted.

"I know, I didn't see you either." Bradley sighed. "How much have you had to drink?"

"A sip of some nasty stuff that Michael gave me, an apple one and the rest of Michael's one!" Kuki counted on her fingers. She gave a giggle. "I feel so weird!"

"I know, I'll get you another drink, you want one?" Bradley asked.

Kuki pursed her lips. "Not the nasty tasting one!"

"No, I won't get the nasty tasting one." Bradley informed her. "Why don't you go lie down, I'll bring it up to you."

"I don't want to lie down!" Kuki waved a hand. "It's too fun down here!"

"No, it's fun upstairs too, Michael will take you up and I'll be right up with another drink for you." Bradley told her.

Kuki sighed, looking up. "I'm not sure I can m...make it up there."

Michael picked her up and carried her upstairs into a bedroom.

"Is this your room?" Kuki looked around.

Michael shook his head as he placed Kuki on the double bed. "No, it's my sisters, but she's at college so you're okay lying on it."

"That's good!" Kuki nodded. "I...I feel a little sick!"

"Well you can't be in here or else you're cleaning it up." Michael chuckled.

Kuki gasped. "NO! I hate sick!"

Michael copied her gasp. "Keep it in then."

Bradley appeared in the doorway with a glass in his hand. He glared at Michael as he walked in.  
"Great job getting the non-drinker drunk!" He hissed at Michael.

Michael raised his hands. "How was I supposed to know that she was a lightweight?"

"She will be! Especially when she's mixing drinks!" Bradley scolded. "Here you go Kuki, drink this."

Kuki took the glass and took a sip. She then spat it out. "Eww! I...I don't want water! You Shled...Said! You said that you wouldn't get me a nasty one!"

"I said I wouldn't get you the nasty one that Michael gave you." Bradley told her, sitting down next to her and helping her to hold the glass, bringing it to her mouth. "All you're getting now is water. Come on, you have to sober up a little."

Kuki groaned and pouted.  
Michael walked out of the room and Kuki looked around the room.  
"Bradley?" Kuki asked. "Why don't you or anybody like Wally?"

"I like Wally." Bradley shrugged. "But if Michael ever tries to tell you why they don't get along, don't listen to him. It has to be Wally who tells you."

Kuki took a sip of water and gulped it.

"Good girl, drink all of it." Bradley said softly.

Kuki did as she was asked, she felt a little calmer, still dizzy but a little calmer.  
"I'll get you more water." Bradley told her, he took the glass and walked into the en suite, filling the glass with tap water. He walked back and handed her the drink, which she sipped.

"You feeling better?" Bradley asked. Kuki nodded.  
"Good, keep drinking water." He told her as he sat next to her.

After a few more drinks of water, Kuki had more or less sobered up.  
"You okay now?" Bradley asked.

Kuki nodded, holding her head. "I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be." Bradley chuckled. "There's not one person in this house who hasn't been in your position."

They heard footsteps, Michael appeared in the doorway.

"Is she okay?" He asked.

Bradley nodded. "She's fine."

Michael walked in and smiled at Kuki. Bradley stood up and faced Kuki.  
"You okay if I go downstairs for a while?"

"No, no ahead!" Kuki shook her head. "I don't want to spoil your fun."

Bradley smiled. "I'll be back up in a few minutes."

Michael came and sat next to Kuki.

"Michael, I'm so sorry." Kuki placed her hands over her face.

Michael laughed. "No worries, forget about it."

"I feel so bad." Kuki sighed.

Michael chuckled. "Not half as bad as you'll feel when your hangover kicks in."

Kuki glanced up at him. She sighed. "I think it already is."

He placed an arm over her shoulder. "You'll be okay, just try another glass of water."

Kuki nodded. "Okay."

She felt an index finger under her chin and looked up at Michael. She gave a small smile. Before she knew it, she felt his lips against hers. It didn't feel right, but she didn't pull away.

Michael pushed her down on the bed and deepened their kiss. Kuki didn't want to go through it this, it still didn't feel right.

"Michael." She whispered.

He continued to kiss her face and neck.

"Michael, don't." She said a little louder. "Michael, please! Get off!" 


	7. Chapter 7

"Get off!" She shouted as she pushed him back.

He sat up and stared at her. "What's wrong?"

Kuki stared back in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" He chuckled, leaning towards her.

Kuki pulled back.  
"Don't you like me?" He asked softly.

She shrugged. "I've...never really thought about it."

"Well think about it now." Michael smiled.

Kuki thought, did she actually like Michael or was it because he reminded her so much of Wally?  
Or was it maybe that because Wally didn't like Michael for some reason, she felt guilty for liking him. Michael began to creep closer to her, his lips coming to hers. She took a breath, she wasn't going to kiss him back but maybe she could decide when he kissed her.  
The sound of a door opened. A shriek then followed. Kuki and Michael looked up. Hattie and Bradley were stood at the door.

"Great!" Michael muttered, he stood up and rushed after Hattie, who stormed off in disgust.

Bradley sighed as he walked in, sitting on the bed next to Kuki.  
"Well I was going to ask you if you wanted a roll but it looks like you two were planning one." He tried to break the tension, holding up a plate of sandwiches.  
Kuki bit her lip and took a ham roll, she held it in her hands, looking down at it.

"Eat it, it'll help absorb the alcohol in your stomach." Bradley said to her.

Kuki obliged and took a bite. She suddenly felt a little nauseas.  
"I don't feel too good." Kuki groaned, placing the sandwich back on the plate. She leant forward and hurled without warning.

"Oh...nice." Bradley commented. "Come on, into the bathroom."

He led her into the bathroom and Kuki knelt down, she placed her head over the basin and sighed, running a hand through her hair. She felt more coming up and became to heave. Bradley knelt down next to her and rubbed her back gently.

Kuki took deep breaths, she looked up at him and shook her head.  
"I'm sorry." She sighed. "You can go back down if you want."

Bradley shook his head. "I can't leave you alone."

"I'll be fine." Kuki managed a smile.

He shook his head again. "No I don't mind. Plus Hattie and Michael will be having the bust up of a lifetime."

"Why?" Kuki panted, holding her head over the toilet once more.

"Hattie just caught her boyfriend almost making out with another girl." Bradley scoffed.

Kuki gasped and looked up, moving too quickly and throwing up again. "What? They were boyfriend and girlfriend!"

"You didn't know?" Bradley asked. "I guess they did keep it pretty quiet since Chris only broke up with Hattie a week ago."

Kuki sighed sadly. "I'm such a horrible person!"

Bradley turned her around and pulled her into a hug. "You're not a bad person, you didn't know anything about them."

Kuki sobbed and then turned back toward the toilet, running a hand through her hair once again as she breathed heavily.

"You don't look to good. I guess this is the downside of alcohol." Bradley told her. "You want me to call someone and get you a lift home?"

Kuki shook her head. "I'll be fine, I'll just walk."

"No you won't, I'll call your mum." Bradley told her.

Kuki shook her head vigorously. "No, she'll freak if she finds out I've been to a house party where everyone's drinking and smoking and everything."

Bradley sighed. "Well I'll walk you home then."

Kuki shook her head again. "No, honestly I'm fine."

"Well I'm not going to let you walk home by yourself when you're projectile vomiting and getting a hangover. Give me your cell." Bradley told her.

She sighed and pulled her cell from her pocket. Bradley typed on it and waited next to her. When it vibrated again, he read the text and then lifted her up. "Come on."

Kuki walked with him into the bathroom.  
"Oh, I'd better clean that up!" Kuki sighed, looking at the vomit on the floor.

Bradley shook his head. "Na, let Michael clean it up. It'll serve him right for being a man whore." 

They descended the stairs. Kuki looked up as she heard Hattie's moaning voice.  
"There she is, wearing the same dress as me and then stealing my boyfriend! There's such a thing as being too much of a copycat!"

"Ignore her, she's hammered." Bradley whispered to her.

They went outside where Kuki noticed Wally on his bike.

"Did you call him here?" Kuki hissed.

Bradley nodded. "Yeah, he said he'll take you home."

Kuki sighed. "He's going to lecture me! He's worse than my dad."

"He's just being a good friend to you. Take care okay." Bradley smiled.

Kuki turned and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks."

"Sorry about the bad jokes you had to put up with." Bradley chuckled.

Kuki giggled. "Trust me, I've heard worse."

They walked up to Wally who gave Kuki a quick glance but made little eye contact.  
"Hey Wally." Bradley smiled.

Wally nodded at him in acknowledgement as he jumped from the saddle of his bike for Kuki to hop on.  
"How you doing Bradley?"

Kuki felt really dizzy while climbing on the bike. She groaned and held onto Wally for support.  
Wally held her steady and let go when she was stable.  
"Later dude." Wally said. Bradley gave a wave and walked back inside.

Wally didn't speak to her all the ride back. Kuki was too busy focusing on trying not to pass out or puke.  
"I need to stop!" She exclaimed suddenly.

Wally pulled up next to some grass, where Kuki jumped from the bike and ran to the bushes. She vomited noisily. Wally dismounted his bike and put it on the floor. Walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him when she'd finished, wiping her mouth. "You're mad at me aren't you?"

"Why would I be mad?" He asked softly.

Kuki looked back at him in surprise, she was expecting to be told off by him. "I got drunk. Bradley had to call you to get me home."

"I can't be mad at you for getting drunk, everybody does it." Wally told her, sitting down next to her. "And I don't mind coming out to get you."

Kuki gave a small smile.

"As long as you don't get any puke on my bike I don't care how many times we have to stop either." Wally chuckled. "Come on, want to try getting home?"

Kuki nodded and stood up. Wally picked up the bike and stood over the frame, Kuki mounted the bike and sat on the saddle. She held onto Wally's hoodie and closed her eyes as they rode to her house.


	8. Chapter 8

She decided not to tell Wally about what Michael did. Tension seemed to be high enough between the two boys and Kuki knew that Wally would be right over to pound Michael's head if he knew about him trying to take advantage of Kuki.  
He dropped her off at the house.  
"Uh, have a bacon sandwich or something when you get in, it'll help with the hangover." He gave a small smile.

Kuki gave a small smile, holding her head. "Thank you."

"Did you have a good time anyway?" He asked.

Kuki nodded then a small shrug. "From what I remember."

He smiled. "See you later."

"Wait, Wally!" Kuki called before he cycled off.

He stopped and blinked at her.

"Will you come in for a while? My mum and Dad are in bed, I just hate going in on my own. I could get you a soda or something."

He shrugged and got off from his bike, he led it up to the door and resting it against the wall as Kuki unlocked the door and walked in.

She walked straight into the kitchen and Wally closed the door behind him then lingered in the kitchen doorway.

"I'm not using the grill or frying pan at this time of night." She sighed.

Kuki pulled out a soda from the fridge and placed it on the side for Wally then sat down at the table with her hands on her head.

"I'm never drinking again." She muttered.

Wally smirked as he took his can of soda and sat opposite her. "That's what everyone says on their first hangover."

Kuki folded her arms on the table and rested her head in it. "I feel sick."

Wally stood up, Kuki heard him snap the kettle and move around the kitchen. After a few minutes a mug was placed in front of her.  
"Drink that, it'll help." He told her, sitting back down again.

"What is it?" Kuki asked, picking it up and sniffing the steaming drink.

Wally smiled and took a sip of soda. "Honey and cinnamon in hot water it'll stop you feeling so sick and stop you're headache a little to let you sleep."

Kuki drank a little. She smiled. "How to you know all this?"

"Been there, done that." He chuckled.

Kuki drank the full cup and stood up to put it in the sink. She felt really content, her headache had soothed down a little and she no longer felt violently sick.  
"Wow, that stuff really works."

"You'd better go up and try to get some sleep if you want to get any if you want to sleep tonight, it only lasts about 45 minutes." Wally told her. "The sleep will help too."

Kuki nodded and gave a yawn. "Well, thanks Wally, will you be okay getting home at this time?"

Wally shrugged and nodded. "Sure, see you later Kuki."

Kuki saw Wally out of the house and watched him cycle out of sight and then closed the door, going straight up to bed and almost instantly falling asleep.

When she woke up in the morning she feel too bad, really thirsty, a little dizzy. But her headache had gone and her parents would be none the wiser to her drunken state of last night.  
She got dressed, walked downstairs and grabbed the spoon on the table as she sat down to her bowl of cereal which was lay out for her.

"What time did you get in last night honey? I didn't hear you come in." Her mother smiled.

Kuki shrugged.  
"About ten." She lied.

"Did you have a good time?" Her mother asked. 

Kuki nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

A knock on the door made Kuki stand up and answer it. She smiled when she saw Wally.

"Hi." He said with a weak smile. "I just wanted to check that you were okay."

She smiled. "I'm feeling fine thanks. Do you want to come in?"

Wally gave a small smile and stepped into the house. Kuki walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table to finish her cereal, Wally took a seat next to her.

"You look like you've recovered pretty well." Wally said with a small smirk.

Kuki shrugged. "I don't feel as bad as I did last night but I don't feel great."

"Well, at least you didn't do anything stupid right?" Wally chuckled.

Kuki munched on her cereal, staring at the milk and nodded.  
"Thanks for coming and bringing me home, and making me that drink." Kuki said to him.

Wally smiled. "It's okay."

Kuki looked at her best friend and decided to try and ask the question which was in her head again. "Why don't you and Michael get along."

Wally's face dropped. He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."  
"But I do!" Kuki whined. "You're my best friend, you shouldn't have secrets from me and Bradley told me that you should tell me, not Michael."

Wally shook his head again. "He's your friend so I don't want to upset you. Just forget it okay?"

"Wally, I'm going to find out from Michael if you don't tell me so wouldn't you rather tell me your side of the story?" Kuki argued.

"No Kuki! No matter what you say I'm not dragging you into it!" Wally snapped.

Kuki was taken aback. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Wally sighed and placed a hand on his face, mentally cursing himself.  
"Kuki, I'm sorry." He sighed, standing from his chair, walking over and placing his arm around her neck.

Kuki held back her tears and turned to wrap an arm around him.

"Listen, do you want to go out and get an ice cream or something?" Wally then asked.

Kuki smiled and nodded. "Yeah."


	9. Chapter 9

They walked down the road to the ice cream parlour. It was quiet, but neither of them really minded. They were so used to each other that they didn't have to have conversation. Silences between them were no longer awkward.

"How long have you known Michael?" Kuki then asked.

Wally gave a sigh, tired of talking about Michael. "Since we were 5."

"How?"

"His mum worked with mine. I used to hang out with him and the guys from Jamestone...we did, stupid things. Sorry I act like such a jerk when he's around." Wally replied.

Kuki gave a small smile. "It's okay, but will you at least try and be nice next time you see him? For me?"

Wally heaved another sigh. "Okay."

They walked into the ice cream parlour and went to the counter.  
"Rocky road sundae please." Wally ordered.

"And a Cookie dough one please." Kuki added.

They got their sundaes and found a table near the window and sat down to eat.  
"Wally?" Kuki then asked.

Wally glanced up at her.

"Is this a date?" She asked.

If the ice cream was a solid food Wally would have chocked on it, instead he inhaled it sharply and gulped as it uncomfortably went down his throat.

"...A date?" He spluttered.

Kuki shrugged as she leant forward in curiosity.

"Umm, well..." Wally began.

They both jumped when they heard a knock on the window, the two of them looked to the side to see Bradley waving at them. He pressed his face against the glass, pulling a random face. He then smiled as he joined his friends to make their way in. Kuki and Wally looked to see who he was with. With Bradley they saw Tom, Hattie, Ruth and Michael.

"Great." Wally muttered.

Kuki stared at him and whispered to remind him. "Be nice! Please don't pick a fight."

"Look who it is!" Bradley beamed as he walked in. "How you feeling Kuki?"

"Better thanks." Kuki smiled.

"The hangovers not too horrific then?" Bradley chuckled.

Kuki shook her head. "No, Wally helped me get over it."

"Wally! You've really changed since I last saw you!" Hattie exclaimed. "I think I saw you when you came to play in school but I didn't recognise you."

"I don't know, he seems to have changed to me." Michael said in a low, monotonal voice as he stared at Wally. "He doesn't have that...spark any more."

Wally glared at Michael and diverted his stare out of the window to focus on something else.  
Kuki glanced at him and then looked back at her friends.

"Sorry about yesterday Hattie, I don't know what I was doing." Kuki decided to be the big person and apologise even though she knew that she had done nothing wrong.

Hattie glanced her up and down and gave a blank face. "No, neither do I."

Kuki looked down at the table.  
Sensing the tension, Bradley decided to break the conversation and set the two groups back for their business.  
"So, Hattie what Ice cream do you want?" He asked, starting to walk away.

"None for me thanks." Hattie said, looking Kuki up and down. "The ice creams here are real fattening."

Kuki put down her spoon as Hattie turned around.  
"It was good to see you again Wally." Hattie said before walking with Michael and Tom to get a seat.

"Give her a little more time to chill out." Ruth said, patting Kuki on the back.

Bradley walked over and gave her a small hug. "Sorry. Don't listen to the ice queen."  
He then smiled at Wally and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before walking off. "See ya Wally."

"Later dude." Wally muttered. He glanced over at Kuki who was watching Hattie and Ruth on their table. Bradley got three ice creams and handed one to Michael and Tom. Hattie and Ruth simply sat there and conversed with the guys. Kuki then looked down at her own stomach. While hanging out with her new group of friends she'd noticed that she was most likely the widest of them. She'd also noticed that she was the only one of them that ate in public.

Wally had obviously noticed what her attention was on. "Is your ice cream any good?"

"Yeah, I'm full though." Kuki replied, pushing the sundae dish towards him.

"You've hardly touched it." Wally raised an eyebrow.

Kuki shrugged. "I'm just not hungry any more."

Wally sighed and put his spoon in the cookie dough. He picked it back out and placed it in his mouth. "mmm, that's good. Even if I was full I wouldn't stop eating it until I got brain freeze."

Kuki looked up at him. "Well, I'm not you."

"Just try some, you can't have a mouthful and get the full taste." Wally urged her.

Kuki shook her head. "No."

"One spoonful?" Wally pleaded.

Kuki shook her head.

Wally then gave a smirk. "I know you can't resist the hot fudge brownie at the bottom of mine? You always try and have some."

Kuki weighed up her options. Wally wasn't going to drop it if she didn't have some. She gave a smile and dipped her spoon to the bottom of Wally's half empty sundae dish and rooted to the bottom to fish out the brownie. Wally smirked at her as he watched her tuck in to her favourite part of the ice cream.  
When she'd finished the brownie Kuki sat back, now she really was full. The brownie and the fudge were really filling, which is probably why it was put at the bottom.

"Want your ice cream now?" Wally asked.

Kuki shook her head. "No, I'm really full."

Wally smiled. "okay, do you want to go now?"

"Yeah." Kuki beamed. "I've quickly got to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, I'll wait outside." Wally told her.

Kuki walked into the bathroom. She quickly went to pee, came out and washed her hands. Kuki stared at her reflection in the full length mirror as she dried her hands. She felt like her stomach had increased 5 inches. Kuki had never used to think herself as fat. She used to think herself as fairly thin, never as thin as Abby but quite thin. Right now she felt like a hippo.  
Kuki couldn't help the urge, she quickly went back into the cubicle, stuck her finger at the back of her throat and moved it around until she gagged. Wally's chocolate brownie came back up as well as the mouthful of cookie dough sundae. Kuki breathed heavily as she stared at the puke in the basin. She wiped her mouth with some toilet roll and threw it in the toilet, flushing the chain. She came out of the cubicle, splashed some cold water on her face and checked her reflection once more. It was strange how good her last actions just made her feel.  
She stepped outside, not even looking at the gang from her school. Kuki walked and met Wally by the entrance.

"Are you okay?" Wally asked with a look of concern.

Kuki nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just look a little pale." Wally shrugged. "And your eyes look a little red."

"I'm fine." Kuki smiled. "Come on, let's go." 

They walked home through the park.

"What was that about with Hattie?" Wally asked.

Kuki shook her head. "Nothing."

"She doesn't pick on you too much does she?" Wally checked.

"No. She's usually pretty nice." Kuki replied. "I just upset her a little last night."

Wally nodded. He then stopped and turned to her. "Don't let her make you feel unimportant. She does that sometimes."

Kuki gave a small smile. She nodded and the two continued to walk.

"I don't think she likes me much anyway." Kuki shrugged.

Wally gave a breathy scoff. "She only likes whoever she thinks can be some use to her."

"She seems to like you." Kuki muttered.

Wally shrugged. "Like I said, she likes people who can be useful to her."

"What do you mean?" Kuki asked.

Wally heaved a sigh. "She seemed pretty annoyed at Michael. What better way to get back at him that flirt with a guy he hates?"

Kuki pursed her lips and continued to walk. "Sometimes I feel really intimidated around them. Not so much Ruth and Bradley, they're real nice. But mainly Hattie and Michael, I feel like I get in their way."

"Don't." Wally replied. "It's not you, it's just the kind of people they are. Stick with Ruth and Bradley. They're the most genuine of the group."

Kuki nodded. "Thanks Wally."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**** Sorry It's taken me so long to update this and my other stories, I've been in a stage thing all 9:45 - 5:00 every day and haven't been getting back until 6, so after eating bathing and relaxing, I don't feel much up to thinking and writing. An extra thanks to EkidsKND for the motivation...this is a short chapter but another should follow soon.**

"How are you all doing at your school?" Kuki asked, she was sat on one of the swings in the park, Wally was leant against the pole of the swing. Kuki slowly swung herself backwards and forwards.

Wally shrugged. "okay I guess, in a way we're kind of losing touch. We're obviously talking outside of school and stuff but in school. I don't know, I mean Nigel and Hoagie are with the smart guys at breaks and lunches, Abby's been accepted into the band groupies and I've been hanging around with some of the guys from sports. Every now and then we'll meet up and eat together but...it's weird."

Kuki blinked. "You're a jock?"

"No!" Wally shook his head. "I'm just friends with the sporty guys."

"So you're a jock?" Kuki nodded.

Wally rolled his eyes. "Shut up! What are you in? The drama clique?"

"I don't know." Kuki shrugged. "You know the guys I hang around with, what are they?"

Wally pursed his lips and gave a smirk. "So you hang around with the jocks too!"

Kuki rolled her eyes and grinned playfully at him. "I don't see what's so bad about hanging around with jocks."

"Except they have more muscle than brains." Wally laughed, walking and sitting on the swing next to her.

Kuki raised an eyebrow. "Says Einstein himself? They're not all stupid."

"Yeah." Wally replied, not understanding Kuki's dig. "They all have mush for brains."

"Tom, Michael and Bradley are smart." Kuki shrugged. "They're jocks."

Wally frowned at the sound of his enemies name. "Tom and Michael like to think they're Jocks, but they suck at half of the sports anyway, they're not that smart. If they're getting good grades then Bradley or someone's doing their homework for them. Bradley's smart but he only hangs around with the jocks, like you do."

"So you think all jocks are stupid then?" Kuki asked.

Wally nodded indignantly.  
Kuki gave a giggle. "You'd fit in easily then."

"Yeah...Hey!" Wally glared at her. Kuki giggled.

They sat happily, gently swinging back and forth. Secretly glancing at one another every now and then.

"Look, I can't tell you who to hang out with but, promise me that you'll stay yourself and won't become one of them?" Wally sighed.

Kuki blinked. She could have a rage at him and storm off, or she could just accept that he was worried for some unknown reason and was looking out for her. She decided to go for the second option. She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time.

"Of course I'd stay myself silly. Who else would I be?" Kuki smiled.

Wally gave a small smile and shrugged. "I'm just saying."  
Wally's cell beeped and he took it out, reading his text.

_Hey Wally_

_Here's my number, save it!_

_Hattie xXxXxXxXx_

He rolled his eyes and put the cell phone back in his pocket.

"Who's texting you?" Kuki asked playfully.

Wally shrugged. "No-one."

"Is it Hoagie or your mum?" Kuki giggled.

Wally glared at her playfully. "I have other people text me."

"Sorry, your dad too." Kuki laughed.

Wally made a grab for her phone. "Well let's see how popular you are then."

"No!" Kuki laughed. "You can't just look through my phone!"

Wally smirked. "Sure I can!"

"Well then I want to see yours!" Kuki stated, standing up and making a grab for his phone.

Wally pulled a little too far away and fell backwards onto the soft floor.  
Kuki burst out laughing and covered her mouth immediately.

"Are you okay?" She giggled.

Wally groaned and held his head. He propped himself up and narrowed his eyes at her. "That wasn't very nice!"

Kuki laughed. "It was your fault! I didn't push you off did I?"

He smirked and reached up, grabbing her hand and pulling her from her seat. She fell on top of him and he groaned.

"Ow! Thanks a lot! Now I have a dead leg." Kuki chuckled as she rolled over next to him.

Wally smirked at her as he propped himself back up onto his elbows. "Dead leg? I got a dead body. How much do you weigh!"

Kuki stared at him suddenly in shock, horror and embarrassment. Wally cocked an eyebrow at her, usually she would hit him or laugh along, she seemed to take that personally.

"I'm joking." He shrugged.

Kuki gave a small smile and stood back up.  
Wally watched her feeling bad about making such a joke. Surely Kuki didn't believe that she was fat or heavy. She was far from it, Wally usually thought that she was unbelievably light and could never get enough of secretly looking at her stunning hour glass figure.

"Seriously, you're not heavy." Wally said as he stood up.

Kuki said nothing.  
Wally then gave a chuckle. "If you were then I wouldn't be able to do this."

Kuki screamed when Wally took her by surprise, lifting her up by her waist and hauling her over his shoulder. She giggled.  
"Put me down!" She laughed, lightly hitting his back.

He chuckled and put her back on her feet at the sound of an ice cream van.  
"Want an ice cream?"

"We've just had some." Kuki laughed.

Wally shrugged. "Still, you can never have too much ice cream."

Kuki rolled her eyes.  
"Come on, how about a Mr Whippy?" Wally asked. "I'll buy it for ya."

She sighed. "Deal."

He laughed and they walked toward the road where the ice cream van was parked.  
"Snowcreme popsickle?" He asked as he stood at the van's window to order.

Kuki nodded. He knew her so well, it's what she always had from ice cream vans.

He ordered their ice creams and paid, then handed Kuki hers as they made their way home.  
The minute Kuki got home she headed straight upstairs and into the bathroom, shoving her finger down her throat and puking into the toilet.

She knelt over the basin and gasped.

"Now I'll fit in." She thought to herself.


	11. Chapter 11

**VOTE ON MY POLL PLEASE :-p**

Over the next few weeks, Kuki continued to eat and force herself to throw up. She no longer ate at lunchtimes, instead she sat with Ruth and Hattie, conversing.  
Any time they hung out, Wally had noticed that Kuki no longer seemed to be herself, her skin looked a lot more dry than usual, she seemed to have no energy left and just seemed a lot less happy. Obviously she had started to go fairly thin.

After school one Friday, the old team decided to meet up in the tree house again for a movie night. Nigel had noticed how far apart the team were falling and wanted to try and start doing something as a group at least every fortnight.

"You know what I want?" Hoagie exclaimed as they were halfway through Abby's chosen movie _The Bounty Hunter_. "Pizza. Anyone else want me to order something?"

"Pepperoni." Wally muttered, not taking his eyes from the screen.

Abby did the same. "BBQ chicken."

"Cheese and tomato please." Nigel said, sitting up and looking up at him.

Wally looked over at Kuki who said nothing, just kept her gaze on the television.  
Hoagie also waited for Kuki's order.

"Numbuh 3, what do you want?" He asked.

Kuki looked at him and shook her head. "I already ate. I'm not hungry thanks."

"You wouldn't have eaten since lunchtime at school cause you came straight here." Wally pointed out. "She'll have a Hawaiian."

Kuki glared at him. "You can't just order for me! I said I'm not hungry!"

"Well share mine then." Wally compromised.

Kuki shook her head, repeating herself. "I said that I'm...not...hungry!"

Abby sat up. "Guys chill out. We'll get the pizza and we'll eat it if Numbuh 3 ain't hungry."

Kuki and Wally didn't shift their glares on one another. Hoagie went into the kitchen and picked up the phone, Nigel and Abby turned their attention back to the screen but Wally and Kuki continued to stare one another down.  
Kuki then gave up and decided to go to her room. Wally followed her and caught her up, blocking her door before she could walk in.

"Why don't you want anything to eat?" He asked.

Kuki shrugged. "I guess I just had a big lunch...I'm not hungry at all."

"You're not on some crazy diet are ya?" Wally asked in concern.

Kuki shook her head. "No, I just don't want anything to eat okay?"

Wally narrowed his eyes at her. "Well will you just have a slice?"

Kuki sighed and stared at him. He wasn't going to let this go. "Okay."

"You coming to watch the rest of the film?" Wally asked.

"Yeah, sure." Kuki sighed. She followed him out of the hall and back into the main room.

She back back down next to him and continued to watch the movie.  
When the pizza arrived about half hour after they all grabbed their boxes and sat in front of the television and tucked in.  
Wally looked over and Kuki and noticed that she wasn't eating any of hers, she'd opened the box and was just looking at the food with terror. She looked up at him and glared stubbornly before picking up a slice and taking a bite. She stared at Wally as she ate her whole pizza.  
She waited a few minutes while Hoagie put a new DVD in, she then chose to excuse herself.

"I've got to go bathroom." She sighed, standing up ans walking out of the room.

She walked into the bathroom and did as she'd done so many times recently, leant over the basin and pushed her fingers to the back of her throat. She gagged. She once again pushed her fingers to the back of her throat, forcing herself to puke. She panted as she held her hair back, spitting excess vomit into the basin.  
She then stood up and went to the door, opening it to see Wally. 

"Were you just throwing up?" He asked.

Kuki blinked, not sure what to say. "Uh, yeah, I told you I wasn't hungry, I just suddenly felt really ill."

Wally raised an eyebrow. "The pizza wouldn't make it come up that quick. Did you do that to yourself?"

"Of course not!" Kuki chuckled nervously. "Why would I do that?"

Wally took Kuki's hand in his and examined it. 

"What's this?" He asked, showing Kuki a small scrape on her hand, there had been no blood drawn but her skin had been pulled up.

Kuki pulled away and shrugged. "You can't question how I got a graze on my finger, I think I just caught it on something."

She walked into her room, to her disamusement Wally followed her in. She accepted that he wasn't going to drop the conversation so sat down on her bed and glared up at him.

"Did you catch it on your teeth when you shoved it down your throat?" Wally accused.

Kuki gasped. She'd been rumbled.  
"How did you know that...?"

"I noticed that you've been acting really weirdly and you obviously haven't been starving yourself but you've got stupidly thin so you had to be doing something. So I looked up on the web symptoms of making yourself throw up, which you show a lot of. Why are you doing this Kuki?"

Kuki blinked, Wally now knew, she couldn't get out of it. She just had to tell him the truth.  
She took in a deep breath and looked to the floor sadly. "Because I'm not pretty."

Wally blinked. "What?"

"I'm not pretty!...Wally I hate walking around with Hattie and Ruth because they're so thin and pretty and...Then there's just me! I'm chubby and plain!" Kuki shouted, not mad at him, more at herself for not being attracted.

Wally scratched the back of his neck thinking of what to say next to her. He heaved a sigh and sat down next to her.

"Kuki, you're not plain, you're...you're actually pretty...real pretty. Okay? You're not chubby...you weren't even before you lost all of that weight...I'm just worried about you cause you don't have any weight to lose." He said calmly.

Kuki furrowed her eyebrows. This wasn't a normal Wally reaction, he was being open and...sweet.  
Still, she didn't believe him.

"I'm not pretty. Hattie and Ruth are just...gorgeous, I look like a goblin walking around with them. A little fat one." She groaned.

Wally breathed slowly. He was beginning to lose his rag. 

Kuki sniffed a few tears. "I have to lose weight to fit in Wally!"

Wally snarled. He grabbed Kuki's wrist and dragged her back into the bathroom firmly. The Wally she knew was back, and his rage was scaring her a little. The grip he had on her wrist was like a Chinese burn.  
He stopped in front of the full length mirror and forcibly stood her in front of it. 

"That's it! Take a look at yourself Numbuh 3! Can't you see what everyone else sees?" He growled. "If you want to look plastic like sluts like Hattie go ahead! Plaster that orange stuff all over your face and stick on a load of other makeup! You know why!"

He grabbed her head and forced her to look at her reflection.  
"Like it or not, you're stuck with how you look for the rest of your life!"

Kuki's lip quivered. Not so much because what Wally had said upset her, she'd understood that and actually, it had made sense. He'd just scared her with his outburst.  
Wally sighed, he'd calmed down and realised what he'd done and said to her, he suddenly felt really guilty. She jumped as he stood behind her and touched her shoulders, a lot less firmly than he'd just been. This time his touch was gentle and caring.

"You're not ugly, you're not fat, Okay? You're...pretty and thin. Everyone who meets you loves you, you should cut yourself some slack and quit comparing yourself to others. Love yourself." He said softly. "Just please don't do this to yourself, it's not good for you and it kills me to see you looking so ill."

"Why do you care?" Kuki muttered.

Wally blinked and caught her eye in their reflection. "Why shouldn't I. You're my...best friend...Yeah, that's it."

Kuki looked down to the floor, then up at her reflection. She then gave a small smile and turned to face Wally.  
"Thanks Wally." She smiled, pulling him into a hug. He sighed and hugged her back.

She pulled away. "Oh, we'll be missing Hoagie's film!" She exclaimed, rushing out of the bathroom.

Wally watched her walk out. He sighed.  
How could a girl so beautiful and happy suddenly lose so much confidence and suddenly get such low self esteem?  
He walked out and joined his friends in the main room.

"Hey we were wondering where you guys went to, we thought you'd gone to bed!" Hoagie laughed. "We nearly started without you Numbuh 4."

Wally smiled and sat down next to Kuki, meeting eyes with her as he did so.  
She diverted her eye contact to the TV screen. Glancing at the clock she realised that it was late, she was tired. She gave a small yawn and stood up.  
"I'm going to bed guys. Night." She looked at Numbuh 4, who was staring at her quizzically. She smiled and whispered. "Thanks."

He smiled back and gave a small nod. "Night Numbuh 3."

She walked into the bathroom and took her toothbrush from the pot. Kuki brushed her teeth casually, she spat out the minty excess and used the empty cup on the side to get some water and swill out her mouth. She then looked into the mirror/cabinet and stared at her face.  
_'Cut yourself some slack and quit comparing yourself to others'_ Wally's voice echoed in her head.  
He was right, but what was so pretty about her? She walked to the full length mirror by the door and lifted up her shirt to stare at her stomach. Maybe Wally was right, maybe she had got pretty thin, and it didn't look overly nice either. Sure, it was nice thinking that she had a flat stomach but thinking back, Kuki remembered looking in magazines at really thin people who'd gone anorexic, bulimic or tried stupid diets, some of the photos made her want to puke when you could see their bones. And thinking about it, Kuki was getting pretty close to that.  
Wally was definitely right about that. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**** Very short chapter, I'm hoping to update soon though**

That week at school Kuki skipped lunch still, but she made sure that she ate before and after she got home from school.

Kuki sighed as she sat around the bleachers with Ruth, Hattie and co. at lunch. Hattie, having now broken up with Michael for the fourth time this month was moaning about some guy that screwed her over that night. She glanced at Bradley who noticed her and rolled his eyes. Hattie still hadn't forgiven Kuki, in fact she was doing the typical bitchy girl thing...acting nice to her but doing petty, horrible things to remind Kuki that she didn't like her but had to hang around with her as the others did.

"Guys are all the same." Hattie moaned. "You'll go so far with them and then they just take over and won't stop! Even when you want them to! They just force you into doing stuff you don't want to do."

Kuki raised an eyebrow at looked over at Bradley again who shook his head. Hattie noticed this and scoffed.

"I suppose you wouldn't know huh Kuki?" Hattie gave a small, mean smile.

Bradley frowned at her. "That's only because you go for the wrong guys. It because you go for the jocks...Kuki doesn't need to know, she's not one to sleep around while she's still a kid."

Hattie gave an insulted gasp. "What are you saying?"

"You're an easy target for guys!" Bradley pointed out bluntly. "Don't take it out on Kuki."

Kuki blinked and glanced from one sibling to the other as they continued to stare each other down.

"Okay guys cool it! The bell will have just gone, come on Hattie we've got Spanish." Ruth said, standing up and trying to break the tension.

Hattie glared at both Bradley and Kuki and then stood up, walking toward the school.  
Kuki looked over at Bradley.

"Thanks for that, you don't have to keep sticking up for me, I can look after myself." Kuki smiled at him.

Bradley chuckled. "And give you all the fun? No chance! Anyway, my comebacks are way better than yours."

Kuki giggled. "Shall we get to class? Miss Mason will flip if we're late again."

Bradley grinned. "Sure." 

All Kuki could think about was Hattie's comment. '_I suppose you wouldn't know_'  
Kuki had never been subjected to...it...before and was completely innocent. Sure she'd watched some movies with intimacy in it and read short paragraphs in magazines and stuff but other than that...to be truthful she didn't know much about it. Her parents were really scrict and embarrassed with things like that and Kuki didn't even feel comfortable enough to talk about minor relationships with boys, let alone anything that serious.  
Until today, Kuki wasn't even aware of kids her age doing it...it's an adult thing. It wasn't legal for them for another two years, even then Kuki didn't think that she'd even consider sex until she was an adult of around 20/21.

"Are you okay?" Bradley asked as he poked her.

Kuki jumped and gave him a nod. "Did Hattie really...you know, with a boy?"

Bradley scoffed. "The question is how many...She finds a new jock every week when her and Michael have split up, sleeps with them and then moans about it as a way to brag."

Kuki frowned. "Is it normal at fourteen?"

"In this school of sluts and whores? Of course!" Bradley chuckled. He then frowned at Kuki's expression. "Don't go doing anything stupid because of it though, it's not so great and it really doesn't give you a good rep."

Kuki's eyes widened. "_You've_ done it?"

"Not proud of it." Bradley muttered. Putting his head down into his work to show that he no longer wanted to continue the conversation.

Kuki blinked and thought about their discussion. Was she the only one in her class who hadn't been intimate?

Hell she'd never even had a _real_ boyfriend, let alone had a sexual relationship. It made her feel left out and immature...no, Bradley was right, she shouldn't just go and have sex with someone just because everyone else was doing it. She was proud that she was still innocent.

However that thought played on her all day. As she walked home with Ruth she decided to bring up the subject.

"Ruth?" Kuki asked.

Ruth looked up and her and smiled.

"Are you...you know...a virgin?" Kuki asked.

Ruth raised an eyebrow. "Well...no, but why?"

"I was just wondering, it was what Hattie said at lunch." Kuki said.

Ruth shook her head. "Don't let her get to you."

"It just made me think. Have everyone in our year done it?" Kuki asked.

Ruth gave a giggle at the way Kuki worded the question. "I doubt it, I guess it's just a few of us who decided we were ready."

"How did you know you were ready though?" Kuki asked.

Ruth shrugged. "I guess it's just one of those things that you just know you're ready when it happens."

Kuki blinked. "oh." 


	13. Chapter 13

"And then she gave me this really evil stare like she was just going to smack me in the face. It was horrible." Kuki gossiped as she pulled her legs up onto the sofa to sit Indian style and face her friend. "I mean just because I wore the same dress?"

When Kuki had gotten home Abby had text her and told her that she wanted to meet up and catch up. So Kuki replied that they'd do a movie night at the treehouse. As they sat and ate the popcorn they discussed school issues and what was going on with them and Kuki had come onto the subject of Hattie.

Abby reached her hand into the plastic blue bowl next to them and took a few salted chips, placing them into her mouth coolly, munching them and clearing her throat.  
"Well this girl don't seem to nice." Abby hummed. "And Numbuh 5 wants you to have decent friends. Not fickle ones…"

"The rest of them are okay." Kuki assured her. "Ruth's real nice, and Bradley, I hang around with him a lot more than I hang around with Hattie. Wally knows Hattie and Bradley though!"

"Really?" Abby mused.

Kuki nodded. "I don't know why but Hattie and Michael don't seem to…get along with him. Wally won't tell me why though."

Abby looked thoughtful for a moment, took a handful of chips and munched on them. She then spoke when she swallowed the food. "Girl, maybe if Wally doesn't get along with them then you shouldn't get caught in the middle. Don't choose between your best friends and your new friends."

Kuki nodded. "I know."  
She pulled the blanket from the sofa and placed it over her lap. Staring at the pictures on the screen and wondering what was going on in the film. It was hard enough to understand this film but as the two of them had chatted throughout it and now that they were halfway through, Kuki had no idea of the storyline.

"Anyway, Numbuh 5 wanted to tell you something girl." Abby said excitedly.

Kuki's eyes brightened with curiosity.

"So Numbuh 5 was sat in math class today just staring out of the window and this paper aeroplane hits her on the head. So Numbuh 5 turns around and glares and Donny who obviously threw it and he told Numbuh 5 to open it. So she did, it said 'Hoagie likes you.' Numbuh 5 just shook her head knowing that he was being stupid but then Numbuh 2 had this real…weird look. Numbuh 5 went up to him after class and he dragged her away into a quiet corner and told Numbuh 5 that Donny was right and he thought she was perfect and then he kissed her right on the lips!" Abby said hastily.

Kuki gasped and squealed with excitement, "Oh my god really? What happens now?"

Abby shrugged. "Well Numbuh 5 asked Hoagie what he wanted to do and he asked Numbuh 5 if she wanted to go to the movies tomorrow night!"

Kuki beamed. "What did you say?"

"YES!" Abby snorted.

Kuki screamed and pulled her best friend into a hug. 

"I'm soo happy for you!" Kuki exclaimed, flapping her hands childishly with a huge grin on her face.

Abby giggled and looked down at her knees with embarrassment. She then gave a sly grin and looked back up to Kuki. She then spoke with a playful and tormenting tone.  
"So how's things with you and _Wally_ now that you're not spending much time together? You're obviously still hooked on him 'cause you keep mentioning him."

Kuki gave a small smile and blinked. "I don't know. I obviously don't think I like him any less but…since I've been at school I've kind of felt like…I like someone else too? Is that even possible?"

Abby cocked an eyebrow. "Not for you usually. You like this other guy as much as you like Numbuh 4?"

"I don't know, sometimes I think I do, then I really don't feel comfortable around but other times I feel like I'm just wasting my time with Wally and Michael seems pretty interested, plus he is a nice guy and I think I really do like him." Kuki shrugged.

Abby shook her head. "Michael? The guy that Numbuh 4 doesn't like?"

Kuki nodded. "I don't know why but I really have a soft spot for him, you know? Sometimes though, I just think that it might be because he really reminds me of Wally."

Abby shook her head. "Numbuh 5 would say stay away from going further than friends if Numbuh 4 don't like him. You're not wasting your time with him girl, Numbuh 5 knows he likes you but he's just too proud and scared of rejection to say anything. Just give him time or…maybe make the first move."

Kuki blinked. She thought for a second and then looked up at her friend. She was about to reply when they both heard the creaking of the front door. Both girls turned to watch the door open and see a blonde boy walk in, his orange hood covering the parts of his face that his fringe wasn't. It was obviously raining quite heavily as his sweater was a deeper shade than usual as it was soaked through. His usually golden blonde locks looked more of a dark brown and hung even more messily over his eyes than normal.

"Oh, hi." He muttered as he stepped in. "Sorry, I didn't know that anyone would be here tonight."

"What are you doing here so late Numbuh 4?" Kuki asked.

Wally shrugged. "Had an argument with my dad so I thought I'd let him cool off and stay here tonight. Why are you guys here?"

"We were watching a movie. Want to watch it with us?" Kuki beamed.

Wally looked up at the screen and gave a blank look. "Na, I don't like reading the credits."

The two of the girls looked at the screen to see white words rolling to the top of the black screen. The movie must have finished.

"It's over?" Numbuh 5 asked. "What time is it?"

Wally pulled out his phone and pressed a button to make it light up. "Nine forty-five."

Abby gasped and shot up. "Numbuh 5 better get back. She's gotta be up for school in the morning. You coming Numbuh 3?"

"Umm, I'll stay here a little longer." Kuki replied with a sweet smile. "See you soon Numbuh 5."

"Bye girl." Abby smiled back, then gave a wink. "Remember what we were just talking about."

Kuki laughed and gave her friend a _shut up_ look. Abby chuckled and tightly fastened her coat before closing the door behind her.  
Kuki stared at the door, wondering why she chose not to go home with Abby, it would have saved her a walk home alone. She too had school in the morning so shouldn't really be staying up much later. She must have felt bad leaving Wally on his own in the house the minute he walked in. He seemed pretty frustrated too so maybe he didn't want to be on his own…or maybe he did which is why he came down?

Kuki shook her thoughts out of her head and smiled at Wally as he hopped onto the sofa next to her where Abby was sat, helping himself to a generous amount of potato chips that were still left over in the bowl.  
"That was a really thoughtful look." He grinned as he shoved a portion of chips into his mouth. "Looks like it hurt too. What are you thinking of that needs that much thought?"

Kuki just shrugged at him. "Nothing. I was just…sitting."

"I can see that." Wally said with a playful _Duh_ tone. "So what was the thing Abby was telling you to remember? What you were talking about?"

"Nothing." Kuki replied with an innocent smile.

Wally raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you're going to say?"

Kuki chuckled and gave a nod. "Yeah."

Wally rolled his eyes and ate some more chips. He then groaned as he tugged at the sleeves of his sweater.  
"Stupid rain, now my sweaters all stuck to me. I didn't bring any more clothes."

"Don't you have your pyjamas here anymore that you can change into?" Kuki asked.

Wally stopped and looked at her as if she'd just spoken to him in Spanish. "That orange onesie that I wore when we were nine? Which half of me should I try and fit it on?" 

Kuki bit her lip.

"Oh…I forgot." She then gave a nervous laugh, feeling embarrassed at her last comment, of course Wally wouldn't fit in that anymore, he'd grown, not only lengthways but in build too, his shoulders were broader than they used to be and he no longer had that little piece of baby fat on his stomach, it was now a taller, toned body.  
"Don't you keep any here?"

"We don't stay here enough." Wally shrugged. "Plus I stopped wearing pyjamas when I was twelve."

Kuki couldn't help but blush at this comment. The picture had just entered her head and wouldn't go away. She chose to stay quiet so not to embarrass herself again by saying yet another stupid comment. She gave a yawn.

"You tired?" Wally asked.

Kuki shrugged. "A little, it's been a long week."

Wally gave a smile. "You're telling me. I've stayed after school four times this week, only one of them was for detention."

Kuki smiled. "You mean you actually stayed back to do work? What's going on with you?"

"No!" Wally chuckled. "I mean for like extra curricular clubs like soccer and basketball and stuff."

"I was starting to wonder." Kuki laughed. "I was going to ask who you were trying to impress by being a nerd."

"Yeah, cause you _never_ stay behind at your school. I remember you'd stay until 6 some nights." Wally pointed out.

Kuki shook her head. "I actually never have at this school. I only really work when I have to."

"Why? That's not like you." Wally said.

Kuki just shrugged. "To prove to my mom that it's not the right school for me, there's not really anything I can think I actually want to stay behind and work on, and I just prefer hanging out."

Wally blinked. "Wow, you have changed."

Kuki smiled. "You too, you'd never stay after school, even if it was for sport. 'after school is my time' you used to say."

"I've obviously taught you well then." Wally grinned.

Kuki giggled. "No, _I _taught _you_ and your bad influence rubbed off on me."

Wally laughed. "Yeah that's more like it."

Kuki laughed and then stared at her friend. "Wally why did you and your dad argue?"

Wally's face dropped. He sighed and leant forward a little. "Joey's starting to be a pest at school and dad's blaming me saying that he's copying what he sees and hears me do. I said that I wasn't going to stop being myself around him and dad just flipped saying how I need to grow up and start thinking of other people and be a little more cautious with how I'm acting and stuff. I was going to blow so I just walked out. He was so out of hand."

Kuki sat and listened intently to him.  
Wally sat forward and placed his head in his hands.  
"It's like Joey does everything right and I'm just the reject of the family. Even if Joey does something wrong it's my fault and not his. Sometimes my family just make me feel so useless and stupid."

"Wally, you're not a reject." Kuki said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Wally scoffed. "yeah right."

"Seriously Wally!" Kuki stated, standing from the couch and crouching in front of him to meet his eyeline. Her hands reached out and grabbed both of his shoulders.  
"You're not a reject, you're not useless and you are not stupid! You're amazing Wally."

Wally looked up at her. "Kuki you're just saying that."

"No Wally, you saw me a few weeks ago, I was so unhappy with myself I turned bulimic! So many people have to go to counselling or the hospital to overcome that but I didn't because you helped me get out of it quickly and taught me to just like myself, even if I can't love myself." She told him. "Not many people could do that. If it weren't for you I'd probably be really ill right now. I couldn't have done it without you."

Wally gave a small smile. "Sure you could, you're a strong, smart girl."

Kuki blinked and gazed into his light green eyes.

"Wally, just don't think about yourself as useless, or stupid or a reject. Because you're not any of those at all. You're a great guy."

Wally gave a smile. "Thanks Kuki."  
He pulled her into a hug which she gladly returned.

When they broke the hug Wally glanced at his phone. "Jeez it's half past ten."

"I'd better get home." Kuki sighed.

Wally smiled and stood up. "Come on, I'll walk you back."

"Oh you don't have to…" Kuki began.

"I know I don't, but I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you and I knew that I would have been able to stop it if I was with you." He replied with a cute smile.

Kuki blushed and opened the door, stepping out into the rain. Wally followed her closely.  
The rain was so cold it hurt Kuki's face as they quickly walked towards her house. She was lucky that she only lived a block away. They soon came to her house and Kuki stood on the doorway as she tried to fish out her keys.

"Well, here you go, safe and sound." Wally smiled.

"Thanks Wally." Kuki beamed, finding her keys and holding them in her hand.

"See you soon?" Wally asked.

Kuki nodded eagerly. She then frowned. "I feel really bad that you have to walk back on your own again now."

Wally chuckled. "Don't worry about me I'm fine, I can look after myself."

"I know." Kuki smiled. "Well goodnight."

"Night Kuki." Wally said, stepping forward clumsily.

Kuki beamed and gave him a hug as she thought this was what he was going for. It took her by surprise when she heard his lips make a popping sound by her cheek as she put her chin on his shoulder. She pulled back and stared at him in confusion.

"Sorry." Wally said quickly, his face going bright red.

"Did you just try to kiss me?" She asked.

Wally gritted his teeth. "…I…I thought you were going in for a kiss so I was going to then…"

Kuki gave a giggle. She bit her lip.  
"Do you want to kiss me?"

Wally shut up and stared at her. He then gave a smile and leant in, closing the gap between their lips. It was only a peck but to Kuki it was the most exciting event of the night. She felt like there was a circus in her stomach, acrobats were flying and spinning around crazily.  
Kuki went a deep red as she stepped back and put her keys in the door.

"Night Wally."

"Night Kuki."

She walked in the house and closed the door. Leaning against it she gave a dreamy smile and closed her eyes, replaying that moment in her head over and over again. Maybe she wasn't wasting her time after all. 


End file.
